Germany bound

After being edged into the second place at the last WOZ Challenge Cup, Barbados’ Segway polo team will be heading to Cologne, Germany with a chip on their shoulder.

The six-man team leaves the island on Monday and newly elected captain Nevin Roach, is full of confidence that the squad can go one place better than their runner-up finish to the Stockholm Saints in the 2013 edition held in Washington, DC.

Despite this being his first tour leading the team, the 26-year-old Roach believes the national side has what it takes to return to their glory days.

The team captured the 2009 and 2010 titles, but had to settle for second position at both the 2011 and 2013 Cups.

“I am still feeling the pain from losing that last final to the Stockholm Saints after coming so close to winning the Cup,” Roach told Barbados TODAY during an interview this afternoon.

“But what I can say is that we are far more prepared this time around than we were in 2013. The last few weeks the team has been training extensively, we’ve played a couple practice matches and I feel quite confident in our preparations.”

He said all that was left for them to do now, was to wait for the draws.

“I think our chances are a lot better, but we have to wait and see how the draw turns out. It’s not going to be easy, but I really believe that the guys can pull it off,” Roach noted.

He revealed that he expected their biggest competition to come from the German side Mammoths, as well as the Saints from Sweden.

Commenting on his role as captain, Roach said while it would be challenging, he was definitely up for the challenge.

Team Barbados captain Nevin Roach (centre) being challenged by two opponents.

He explained that in recent times, he had taken on more responsibility regarding the team’s preparations for the upcoming tournament.

“I am honoured to be given the responsibility of leading the team on the field of play and I will embrace the challenge.

“I wasn’t all that surprised about being awarded the captaincy, because I took a lot of responsibility as it related to getting the team prepared and ready for this competition,” he acknowledged.

Roach who celebrates his 27th birthday on July 22, three days after the tournament comes to an end, said it would be a “perfect birthday gift” if the team was able to come away victorious.

Team Barbados will be heading into the competition in relatively good form after finishing fourth out of 16 teams at the recently concluded inaugural UK Segway Polo Competition held at the Rugby College in the UK.

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